We Went Into The Woods Today

[Donna K & Quincy]

 Quincy and I went into the woods today to take a walk on one of our favorite trails and to see how much damage had been done by the recent visit we had from hurricane Leslie.

 

It was a beautiful day and we were sauntering along lamenting the fact that the wind had toppled so many trees. We were listening to the birds singing, the occassional squirrel telling us off for invading it's space and generally just soaking up the marvelous September day.   It was a very warm day and Quincy doesn't tolerate the heat well so we stopped to take a little break on our way up a long steep run of steps.

 

While we were resting a girl goes jogging by heading up the stairs ahead of us. A few minutes later she comes tearing back down the trail like the hounds of hell were after her. I thought to myself, humph, anyone can run down a hill. As she was flying by she shouted over something over her shoulder that sounded like "watch out for the spruce".  I thought, great, there must be a tree blocking the trail.  I gave Quincy some water and after our little break we continued on up the trail. We hadn't gone far when it suddenly became clear what she had said, it wasn't watch out for the spruce, it was watch out for the MOOSE!!!!!!!!!

There they were, a momma moose and two calves. Now generally, moose will bolt if startled but these beasts weren't going anywhere and were not the least bit concerned about a sweaty, huffing  momma and a panting  doodle.They just looked at us with their big moose eyes and kept right on with their leisurely dining. 

 If there is one thing that you do not want to do, it is to get between the mother moose and her babies, she will charge and can be very aggressive. Now I know with the proper motivation I could climb a tree but if I had to do it with a 65lb doodle on my back all bets are off.  So being very mindful of the position of each moose, I managed to get a couple of pictures before we had to beat a hasty retreat when the moose started to move down the trail towards us because some yoyo had come up the trail behind us and decided to try and scare the moose because they were in his way.

In all of this Quincy did not react to the moose at all, I think he either didn't see them or he was too warm to care. If I expected that Quincy was going to protect me should they decide to charge, I would be sorely disappointed. We often see moose tracks when we are hiking but this is the first time I have actually encountered a moose up close. It really did wonders to elevate my heart rate. :>)

 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow....that would be some excitement on a walk. I know Fudge and Vern would not be as calm as Quincy and I think I would be climbing up a tree with two Doodles on my back :)

[Pat and Traveler]

Yoiks!  You were a brave woman to hang around for photos!  That's a nice, healthy looking moose.  I met a moose in the woods one time when a friend and I were hiking.  She had a calf too.  We were eating oranges, sitting on a rock, when she strolled by.  We were close enough to see the ruff on her neck stand up when she caught our scent.  Sorta scary==but she just took her baby and trotted away.

[Leslie and Halas]

Wow. That's amazing! And I'm sorry my hurricane toppled your trees. I was excited to be upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane, but I didn't really want to cause any damage.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

That's amazing! I think I would have made a run for it, you're pretty good to stick around for pictures! And good for Qunicy for staying so calm!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Lucky you! What an amazing experience! Quincy was such a good boy. My doodles would be barking and pulling me towards it. At least that's what happened when they encountered a horse. Love the photos!

[Carol and Banjo]

What an exciting walk you and Quincy had!   You're very brave to stop to take photos....but I'm glad you did!!!

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

Wow.. great Pictures.. Glad you Survived Leslie and the Moose. Amazing Shots. I can't believe you saw a moose and her calves.how fortunate.

It is a shame that others don't know how to behave around wildlife.

Great blog..

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Sad picture of the fallen trees :-{   We  (dh and I) are reading a series of murder mystery books by Sue Henry about dog racing and Alaska and the Yukon, and she has several confrontations with Moose while racing. So when you mentioned moose, I knew this could be a dangerous situation.  Loved the mental picture of you climbing a tree with Quincy on your back. :-} It would be occasions like that that I certainly am glad that Ned is small. :- \    :-}

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Wow, that's amazing and great that you managed to get such good photo's too.  I am always thrilled to find wild animals when I'm out and about but don't know whether I would remain calm enough to manage to get pics. Good that Quincy remained totally calm too.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Great pictures.